Delphi Collected Works of Alexis de Tocqueville

by Alexis de Tocqueville, Delphi Classics (Editor), Francis Lieber (Translator)

Alexis de Tocqueville was a French nineteenth century political philosopher and historian. His landmark work ‘Democracy in America’ (1840) analyses the improved living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. The treatise won Tocqueville an immediate reputation as an esteemed political scientist. In later years, he turned to the subject of the French Revolution and, after years of research, he published ‘The Old Regime and the Revolution’, exploring French society before the French Revolution, the so-called “Ancien Régime”, while investigating the forces that led to the 1789 Revolution. The book is now generally considered one of the major early historical works on the subject, which expands on Tocqueville’s main theory about the Revolution — the theory of continuity. This eBook presents Tocqueville’s collected (almost complete) works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)

* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Tocqueville’s life and works
* Concise introductions to the major texts
* All the major essays, with individual contents tables
* Features rare translations appearing for the first time in digital publishing
* Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Rare memoirs and letters
* Features a brief biography
* Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres



The Books
On the Penitentiary System in the United States (1833)
Democracy in America (1835)
Report Made to the Chamber of Deputies on the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies (1839)
The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856)
A Fortnight in the Wilderness (1861)
Miscellaneous Essays

The Letters
Letters of Alexis de Tocqueville (1861)

The Memoirs
Memoir of Alexis de Tocqueville (1861)
Recollections of Alexis de Tocqueville (1893)

The Biography
Brief Alexis de Tocqueville (1911)

3377 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2022

About the author

Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville, usually known as just Tocqueville, was a French aristocrat, diplomat, sociologist, political scientist, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both, he analyzed the living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.
Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 2 December 1851 coup and thereafter began work on The Old Regime and the Revolution. Tocqueville argued the importance of the French Revolution was to continue the process of modernizing and centralizing the French state which had begun under Louis XIV. He believed the failure of the Revolution came from the inexperience of the deputies who were too wedded to abstract Enlightenment ideals.
Tocqueville was a classical liberal who advocated parliamentary government and was skeptical of the extremes of majoritarianism. During his time in parliament, he was first a member of the centre-left before moving to the centre-right, and the complex and restless nature of his liberalism has led to contrasting interpretations and admirers across the political spectrum.